1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) More particularly, the present invention relates to the placement of a fuel tank and a fuel pump in a structure in which the fuel pump is disposed within the fuel tank.
2. Description of the Background Art
In these types of all terrain vehicles, for example, the type described in the Japanese laid-open document 2004-308602, an engine is mounted within the vehicle body frame, a saddle type seat is provided at the rear side of the engine, and a fuel tank is disposed below the saddle type seat. The fuel tank is arranged such that when viewed from the width direction of the vehicle, the fuel tank appears to be on the right side of a muffler, while when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the fuel tank appears to be on the rear side of a rear suspension.
In addition, according to the Japanese laid-open document 2004-308602, a depression portion protruding from below is formed on the bottom wall of the fuel tank, and an absorption vent of the fuel pump is provided within the depression portion.
In the case of such a conventional vehicle where the fuel tank is disposed on the right side of the muffler and rear side of the rear suspension, in order to prevent the fuel tank from being heated by the muffler and interfered with by the rear suspension, a gap is to be provided between the fuel tank and the muffler and between the fuel tank and the rear suspension. As a result, the capacity of the tank is constrained.
Alternatively, to avoid such capacity constraint, the fuel tank can also be disposed in front of the seat and above the engine. However, in order to avoid interfering with the engine and depending on how the fuel tank is disposed, the location of the fuel tank may become inconveniently high.